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Bats go cold as Rice Baseball drops series at Hawaii

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Rice baseball got things started with a Friday night win, but couldn’t hang on, dropping the four-game series 3-1 at Hawaii.

FRIDAY | Rice 5 – Hawaii 2

Treyton Rank and Brendan Cumming picked up RBI hits in the second inning to stake Parker Smith to an early lead on Friday night. The Owls’ ace would allow one run on three hits, working five innings before giving way to the bullpen. The pitching staff would be given a bit more cushion as the offense tacked on an additional run in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, getting to the bottom of the ninth with a 5-2 lead.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball  tops PVAMU in midweek battle

It was at that point that Davion Hickson, in his second inning of work, ran into a bit of trouble. With the potential tying run at the plate and one out, he was lifted in favor of Garrett Stratton. After walking a batter to load the bases, Stratton induced a game-ending double-play, the Owls’ fourth of the game.

SATURDAY | Hawaii 4 – Rice 3

Rice starter JD McCracken battled through five innings and pitched rather well on Saturday, with one tough inning that would prove problematic for the Owls. Hawaii tagged McCracken for three runs in the fourth, collecting four hits, only one of which left the infield.

Trailing by three, Rice chipped away. Jack Riedel doubled in one run in the sixth before Kyte McDonald’s third home run in the eighth, his third of the season, tied the game. The deadlock wouldn’t last long. Tyler Hamilton allowed a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, which proved to be the difference in the one-run game.

SUNDAY | Hawaii 12 – Rice 1

Following a pair of tight games, the third rendition was anything but close. Hawaii struck for seven runs in the first inning, knocking starter Ryland Urbaczyk from the game quickly and taking out the rest of their fury against reliever Mauricio Rodriguez. Rice would never recover.

The rest of the bullpen struggled with free passes, walking a combined 11 batters on the afternoon and surrendering additional crooked numbers in the fifth and eighth innings. Rice scored their only run of the day in the second on a home run from Trey Duffield.

MONDAY | Hawaii 7 – Rice 5

Things looked dire early on in the series finale when Rice starter Robert Fernandez was ambushed for three runs in the first inning via a bases-clearing double. Fernandez settled in and got through another inning and change, giving way to Tom Vincent who got the Owls through five innings without further damage.

The fifth was when Rice offense started to wake up. Kyte McDonald and Treyton Rank each delivered RBI doubles, one in the fifth and another in the sixth, give Rice a 4-3 lead. Hawaii would answer with a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the sixth, taking a 6-4 advantage. Rice would not lead again, dropping the game and the series.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball leaves another weekend with a series loss, turning in several competitive outings with only one win to show for it. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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1. Doubled-up

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ON DECK | vs Houston Christian (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Baseball bounces back with midweek win over PVAMU

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Rice Baseball got back in the win column on Tuesday night, taking care of business against Prairie View A&M at Reckling Park, 6-1.

Prairie View struck first on Tuesday night, launching a second inning pitch from Rice baseball starter Robert Fernandez over the right field wall to take the lead. The Owls were able to respond immediately, softening any lingering concerns about the offensive woes showcased in their weekend series loss to Stanford with a trio of multi-run frames.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball swept by Stanford

Ben Royo collected the first RBI in the bottom of the second, moving the line with a single to left center. Max Johnson followed with a sacrifice fly to put Rice in front, 2-1. Staked to a modest lead, Fernandez and the bullpen, patrolled this time by Jackson Mayo and Mauricio Rodriguez, keep the Panthers’ bats quiet.

PVAMU had two hits and two walks, never posing any meaningful threats outside of that isolated home run ball early on. Rice would add two more runs of their own in the fifth, courtesy of a double from Nathan Becker. The final two would cross in the sixth on a sac fly from Pierce Gallo and a wild pitch.

For the night, Rice outhit PVAMU 11-2 and the Rice pitching staff worked nine innings of one-run ball, striking out eight while allowing six total base runners, including one hit batter and one who reached via an error.

What it means | The price of victory

With the outcome essentially decided, the injury bug snuck up and bit Rice baseball again in the ninth inning. Max Johnson went down in a heap, stretching for a ball thrown off the bag before collapsing to the turf in pain. He had to be helped off the field by trainers and didn’t look to be able to put much weight on his leg.

Johnson had yet to register his first hit of the season but had earned the trust of the coaching staff for his improved competitiveness at the plate as well as his defense. His 10-pitch at bat against Stanford on Sunday that kept the Owls in it late drew positive reviews from head coach Jose Cruz Jr afterward.

“I thought Max had really good at bats,” Cruz said, singling out that crucial at bat. “I’m happy for that progress.”

If Johnson does indeed miss time, Rice will have to reshuffle the lineup again after settling in on Johnson as the first baseman for the time being. That would likely put Treyton Rank back on the infield and keep Ben Royo at shortstop. At some point, it’s a numbers game, and Rice is running out of options with the season just a few weeks old.

ON DECK | vs Hawaii (Fri-Mon)

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Rice Baseball swept by Stanford

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Rice baseball left Reckling Park without a win this weekend, falling in three straight games to Stanford.

FRIDAY | Stanford 6 – Rice 2

The home crowd exploded with cheers when Jack Riedel launched a seventh-inning pitch over the left field berm for a no-doubt, leadoff home run. While the blast was impressive, it also represented the Owls’ first hit of the night in a game they trailed 5-0 before that ball crossed over the fence.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops midweek bout with LSU

Stanford starting pitcher Matt Scott had allowed just two base runners to that point, both on walks. Smith outdueled Rice ace Parker Smith who had labored through six innings, earning the loss. A late-inning rally would prove too little, too late.

SATURDAY | Stanford 8 – Rice 2

Following a spectacular complete game the weekend prior, Rice pitcher JD McCracken was not as fortunate this time out. He labored through 5.2 innings, leaving in a precarious spot in the sixth before two more runs were added to his ledger on a double surrendered by Jack Ben-Shoshan.

Trailing 8-0 with one hit of their own, Rice couldn’t mount a meaningful comeback. Jack Riedel gave the Owls their only offensive spark of the day, lifting a two-out home run over the wall to prevent a shutout. That salvaged some pride but had no impact on the Owls’ chances at a comeback.

SUNDAY | Stanford 4 – Rice 3

Although Stanford did strike first once again, things were much closer on Sunday in the series finale. After the Cardinal put up a two-spot in the first, Rice rallied to tie the game in the second inning. Treyton Rank delivered a key RBI double to even the score at 2-2.

The game would remain deadlocked there until the fifth inning when Stanford chased Rice start Ryland Urbanczyk from the game and moved ahead on a two-run homer off his successor, Tom Vincent. Rice got one back in the bottom half of the inning but wouldn’t score again.

Rice had a chance to break through in the eighth but stranded the bases loaded. Davion Hickson was a bright spot in the late innings, striking out five in 3.1 scoreless.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball wrapped up a rough week on the diamond with a weekend sweep at the hands of Stanford. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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1. Missing my Guy

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ON DECK | vs PVAMU (Tues), at Hawaii (Fri-Mon)

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Rice Women’s Basketball runs out of gas vs North Texas

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Rice Women’s Basketball played North Texas tight for 38 minutes before the Owls shooting struggles finally came home to roost.

For 38 minutes, Rice women’s basketball and North Texas were locked in the makings of a class game between these two Texas-based powers. Through 38 minutes, neither team led by more than six points. There were 10 ties and seven lead changes. The back-and-forth was constant and neither team ever felt in control.

Malia Fisher and Emily Klaczek were productive from the field with Sussy Ngulefac coming off the bench with a team-high 13 points as well as four boards. Everything seemed to be going well for the home team until all of a sudden the shots stopped falling at the most inopportune time.

More: Roost Podcast — Spring Roundup

The Owls missed eight consecutive shots in the final 2:05 before a last-second layup that proved irrelevant to the final result. The run of misses inflated a woeful day from deep in which Rice converted a dismal 3-of-30 attempts from three-point range, further depressing a disappointing 31 percent shooting performance from the field.

Final Box | North Texas 63 – Rice 54

Key takeaway | Slipping away

There’s never a good time to lose four in a row, but the last weeks of the regular season are a particularly painful time to do so. Two weeks ago the double-bye in the conference tournament looked exceedingly likely. Today, not so much.

Rice is currently tied in the win column with Charlotte,  UAB, Memphis and UTSA. They don’t hold the tiebreaker with any of those four, with the Roadrunners still on the schedule in the final game of the regular season. That lack of a tiebreaker is what makes the double-bye seem so out of reach right now.

If Charlotte beats FAU on Sunday or ECU on Tuesday, they’ll be guaranteed the spot ahead of Rice in the standings. The same goes for UAB if they’re able to beat Wichita State on Tuesday.

The Owls’ only chance right now would require Charlotte to lose both games, UAB to lose to Wichita State, Memphis to lose to North Texas AND Rice to beat UTSA. If that exact scenario happened, Rice would finish 10-8, a game ahead of that entire grouping.

Up Next: at UTSA (Tuesday, Mar. 5)

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Rice Baseball drops midweek bout to No. 3 LSU

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A rocky start was too much to overcome as Rice Baseball fell at home to defending champion LSU who scored early and often.

To beat championship-caliber teams you have to play championship-caliber ball. Wednesday night fully encapsulated the degree to which Rice baseball isn’t on the same level as the reigning national champions. And it all came to bear in the span of two half-innings that made all the difference.

Left field Brendan Cumming lost a ball in the lights in the second inning. A few at bats later, he came up inches short of a diving play in the outfield. Had both balls been caught, Rice very well could have been out of the inning with a zero on the board. Neither were. LSU got three.

Last Time Out: Pitching powers Rice Baseball to series win over Louisiana

An inning later, Rice got the first two outs. Instead of retiring the next batter though, reliever Jake Melvin hit him. The next man hit a home run. LSU proceeded to tack on four additional two-out runs. After coming so close to putting up back-to-back zeroes, Rice trailed LSU 9-0 through three innings.

Rice put together four runs of their own, but another large crooked number in the seventh — courtesy of another mammoth home run blast from LSU catcher Brady Neal, his second of the night — ended any illusions of a comeback. Rice fell 16-4.

What it means | Bright lights, strong winds, bad mix

The lights in the outfield were replaced the week before the season began. The new lights are bright. Someone on staff from a visiting team at Reckling Park this season mentioned they’d seen players struggle with similar lighting setups, particularly in the outfield. The first four games proceeded without notice. Then came Wednesday night.

What the scorebook shows is not fully indicative of what really happened in the field. Both left fielders misplaced balls in the air. Multiple balls dropped in between the triangle formed between the left fielder, third baseman and the shortstop. Officially these were ruled as hits because no fielder directly misplayed the baseball. But for those watching the game it was more than evident the field was playing tricks on everyone.

Rice baseball head coach Jose Cruz Jr. was more concerned with the wind that the lights.”I don’t think it was lights at all the lights were great. It’s it’s as bright as it’s ever been here at Rice,” he said. “But we were both playing on the same field.”

ON DECK | vs Stanford (Fri-Sun)

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